COWGIRLS HOST LEAGUE-LEADING LADY RAIDERS Oklahoma State (11-5 overall, 4-2 Big 12 Conference) hosts the fifth-ranked Texas Tech Lady Raiders on Wed., Jan. 28, at 7 p.m. in Gallagher-Iba Arena. TTU is 13-3 overall and 6-1 in Big 12 Conference play, coming off a 72-56 win over the Kansas Jayhawks in Lubbock. The Cowgirls are coming off a 56-51 loss to the Jayhawks in Lawrence a week ago. Texas Tech won the earlier meeting between these two teams, a 74-48 win in Lubbock two weeks ago.

LAST TIME Oklahoma State's Jennifer Crow scored 14 points, the only Cowgirl in double figures, as OSU lost to the Kansas Jayhawks, 56-51, in Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence last week. Crow also pulled down a career-high nine rebounds in the game. Cowgirl Cheri Edwards scored nine points and had 10 boards, but shot just 4-of-13 from the field as OSU shot 31 percent as a team. All-Big 12 Renee Roberts was held below seven points for the third consecutive game on 1-of-11 shooting from the field. Kansas got the job done at the line, connecting on 13- of-18 free throws, while OSU hit 9-of-14 from the stripe. Oklahoma State outrebounded Kansas, 40-38, and had fewer turnovers, 15-17.

COMING UP Oklahoma State will travel to Lincoln, Neb., to take on the Nebraska Huskers (14-6 overall, 3-3 Big 12) on Saturday, Jan. 31. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m., and the game will be televised by Fox Sports Net. Following that game, OSU will host the north-division leading Iowa State Cyclones on Wed., Feb. 4, in Gallagher-Iba Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

A LOOK AT THE LEAGUE RACE While the Big 12 Conference is just nearing the midpoint of the season, taking a look at the coaches' preseason poll it appears that the coaches were right on in selecting Texas Tech as the conference champion, and the last three spots are pretty close, but the biggest surprise is where Texas and Colorado, picked second and third, respectively, are currently. UT is in ninth prior to Wednesday's games, while the Buffaloes are eighth. Iowa State was predicted sixth, and is currently second, while OSU, predicted to repeat last season's finish at eighth, is third.

COWGIRL NOTE-ABLE Megan Gregg leads the Big 12 Conference in shooting percentage with her 47-of-76 (61.8 percent) shooting from the field·Her shooting percentage in conference games only is 69.2 percent (18-of-26), also leading the league·Seniors Renee Roberts and Cheri Edwards have combined for nine double-doubles during their careers at Oklahoma State·Oklahoma State is among the league leaders in defense, as the Cowgirls are second in scoring defense (58.2 points allowed per game) and lead the conference in field goal percentage defense (35.8 percent)·Nikki Harmon has been perfect on her last 14 free throws, dating back to the first conference game vs. Texas·Senior Cheri Edwards needs to average 11 points per game for the remainder of the season to reach the 1,000-career point mark.

ATHLETIC TRAINER STAYING BUSY Most teams have injury problems throughout the season, but OSU's plague this year seems to be increasing. Athletic trainer Angie Beisner has been very busy with several injuries to the Cowgirls. Nikki Harmon had surgery last Wednesday to repair the torn meniscus in her right knee, and will be out for at least 10 days. Here is a look at what has happened to the Cowgirls this season·

COWGIRLS ON THE AIR Oklahoma State's Cowgirl Basketball games are broadcast by KGFY-105.5 FM in Stillwater. Kevin Gum, as he has done for the past seven seasons, will provide play-by-play during the broadcast, while Casey Kendrick, in his third season with the broadcast, will provide color analysis. Gum also hosts Coach Halterman's radio show, which can be heard on Y105 on Thursday nights at 7 p.m. Kevin and Casey can also be heard on the world wide web at www.okstate.com or www.gamecruiser.com.

SCOUTING THE LADY RAIDERS Texas Tech is 13-3 overall this season and 6-1 in Big 12 Conference play. The Lady Raiders lone conference loss was an 82-73 downfall to the Iowa State Cyclones in Ames. TTU is coming off a 72-56 win over the Kansas Jayhawks in Lubbock. Texas Tech is led on the court by All-America candidate Alicia Thompson, who leads the league in scoring with her 21.5 points per game average. She also averages 8.8 rebounds per game and is shooting 54.2 percent from the field. Since beginning conference play, Thompson is averaging a double-double with 22.0 points and 10.0 rebounds. The head coach for Texas Tech is Marsha Sharp, who is in her 16th year at Texas Tech and has an overall record of 363- 123 (.747). She led the Lady Raiders to a national championship in 1993.

SERIES WITH TEXAS TECH Oklahoma State leads the overall series with Texas Tech by a 10-5 margin, but TTU has won the last two games between the teams. OSU also leads the series in Gallagher-Iba Arena, 6-1, with the only loss coming last season, 78-56. Here is a look at the series·

LAST TIME BETWEEN OSU-TTU Texas Tech showed why it deserved its national top-five ranking with a 74-48 win over the Cowgirls in Lubbock Municipal Coliseum. The Lady Raiders didn't want a repeat of a year ago, when OSU went into TTU's arena and gave the then-No. 7 Lady Raiders a 78-56 loss. Texas Tech got 18 points from Alicia Thompson and another 17 from Angie Braziel in the win. OSU's Cheri Edwards scored 17 points while freshman center Devon Magness added 11, but Texas Tech limited OSU to just 30.8 percent shooting from the field.